Dr. Dre Promotes New Album On Mafia Wars

Dr. Dre has teamed up with Zynga to promote his new music single in the company’s popular Mafia Wars game and to give out some virtual goods to Facebook gamers.
Starting today, Mafia Wars will feature a number of Dr. Dre-inspired game scenarios, collectively called “Hustlin’ wit Dre.” Players around the world can watch the video for Dr. Dre’s first single, Detox, while playing Mafia Wars, and collect Dr. Dre-inspired, limited edition virtual goods such as headphones, weapons, and a vintage car. People who collect all of these virtual goods and complete the mastery will automaticallybe entered in a contest to win a signed copy of “Detox” or the exclusive Beats by Dre headphones (to the right).

The video for his new single, Detox, featuring Snoop Dog, will also stream for free while you play Mafia Wars. Players can purchase the single via an iTunes link within the game. Dr Dre’s album, however, is not due until some time next year, but one can only expect he’ll keep plugging his music Mafia Wars as his new album nears its release.

Although this is Zynga’s first in-game music partnership, it is not the first time Mafia Wars uses a celebrity to promote the game. Last August, people watched live as Snoop Dog blew up a real-life 4-ton armored truck in the Nevada desert to announce that Mafia Wars Las Vegas had reached 10 million users. Mafia Wars, a crime game where one creates clans and builds a criminal empire, is played by 19 million users each month.

May we be seeing a surge in music artists using Facebook games to promote new music? What other games and celebrities could take advantage of this strategy?